Project quote calculator: turn your hourly rate into a fixed price

The private formula

Quote ≈ (production hours + meetings + revisions) × hourly floor × (1 + buffer). The hourly number stays in your notes. The client sees one price, the deliverables, and the date.

Count the hours you will actually spend

• Production is the work itself.
• Add kickoff, feedback rounds, and delivery. Those are often 20–30% of production on a first-time client.
• Do not use 8-hour days as if every hour bills. Same rule as the rate guide.

Pick a buffer from the mess, not a vibe

• Small, written scope: about 15%.
• Normal project: 20–25%.
• New client or fuzzy brief: 30–35%, or split a paid kickoff workshop first — hours you type × this floor on the kickoff-workshop card, not 10% of this quote.

What to send the client

• One total, not “20 hours at $95.”
• What is in, what is out, how many revision rounds.
• Timeline and a deposit (often 40–50% to start on smaller work). Split it on the deposit guide.
• If they push the number, cut scope. Do not quietly cut the rate.

When to stay hourly instead

Keep hourly when the work cannot be scoped: retainers, on-call, or “we will know it when we see it.” Even then, start from the same floor. Convert a known week of work with the day rate guide.

If they walk mid-job, do not invent a 50% kill of this quote. Keep is hours already worked at this floor vs the deposit you took — the cancel keep / unpaid gap card, not a percent of the leftover fee.

If they stay and ask for more, do not invent a 20% change-order on this quote. Extra hours × this floor is the add-on; new total is this quote plus that product — the extra hours / change-order card.

If they want a lid on that total — a not-to-exceed — that is not this buffered quote. billed = min(hours × floor, cap they type) on the not-to-exceed card. 20h × $90 = $1,800 vs cap $1,500 → billed $1,500, 3.33h unpaid unless they open a change-order. This page quotes with no cap. Do not invent a 10% NTE buffer here either.

If they did not add hours — they asked to run the same work in paid ads or perpetual worldwide — that extra is hours already in this quote × this floor × a multiplier they type on the usage-license card. Not 2× for nationwide ads. Not copyright law.

If they already bought the delivery and now want the Figma, PSD, or AE project, that is not a new quote and not 50% of this one. Package/handoff hours × this floor on the source-files card. Optional 0.25 of original hours is a quarter-job example they type, not a rule.

If they want the same hours Friday instead of next week, that is not extra hours and not a rush percent of this quote. Same keep, shorter calendar — the rush-job card.

If they want you in the room for a day, that is not this buffered project fee. Hours on site + travel hours you type × this floor — parking as a dollar paste, not an IRS rate — is the on-site day card.

If they named a stock pack, a font, ads, or a contractor you should pay, that cash is not hours in this quote. Put the vendor line on the expense-markup card: cost you paste times one plus a share you choose. Share 0 bills the receipt as-is. A 0.15 you type is a 15% illustration, never a claimed agency percent. Keep this page for hours × floor.

If hours of this quote sit on Saturday, Sunday, or after the day they already bought, that is not a rush percent of this quote and not extra NEW hours. Weekend extra = those hours × this floor × a share you type on the weekend-hours card. Default 0.5 is a half-again example, not time-and-a-half as a law.

If they will not take this quote until you run a kickoff, that session is not a 10% slice of this buffered total. Workshop fee = hours you type × this floor on the kickoff-workshop card. Optional credit against this later quote starts off. Quote the real job here after the session.

If the ask is a $40–$80 tweak too small to quote as a project, compare their offer to N hours × this floor on the minimum-fee card — not a new quote and not a percent of one. Default N is a 1-hour worked example they can change.

If they named three things and want one number for all of them — site + deck + cuts, one PO — that is not this buffered one-job quote. Total = (hours A + hours B + hours C) you type × this floor on the bundle card. Worked: (8 + 4 + 2) × $90 = $1,260. No 15–35% buffer on that card. No “bundle is 10% off.” Off after a number already left lives on discount. This page quotes one job.

Name how many revision rounds sit in this quote. After those are used, the next pass on the same deliverable is not a new quote and not extra NEW hours. It is hours for that extra round × this floor on the revision-round card. New screens still go to change-order.

Open project quote tool Set hourly first Rate method If they cancel They asked for more They capped the invoice Broader usage, same hours They want the working files They need it Friday They want you to buy it Workshop before this quote Tiny job floor Three things, one invoice Extra revision round

If the job runs through Upwork or Fiverr, gross up take-home on the platform fee guide. Direct PayPal invoices use the PayPal invoice fee guide. Card vs bank payout: Stripe vs Wise. Product shops use the seller-fee calculator. If the hours are video, use the YouTube RPM estimator.

FAQ